A Tucson hospital's health-care package promises affluent
Mexican women the chance to have their babies in posh surroundings
with access to the latest medical equipment.

But the marketing materials leave out a key draw in the
arrangement: U.S. citizenship for the newborn.

Tucson Medical Center's "birth package" gives an official nod to
a generations-old practice of wealthy Mexican women coming to U.S.
hospitals to give birth. Mexican families do the same thing at all
local hospitals, but TMC is the only one actively recruiting their
business.

The practice is legal, but offensive to some advocates of
tougher U.S. immigration standards.

"What it really amounts to," said Mark Krikorian, executive
director of the Center for Immigration Studies, "is buying U.S.
citizenship."

"This is different from any other kind of medical treatment,"
said Krikorian, whose Washington, D.C.-based think tank studies the
impact of immigration on the United States. "If you come for cancer
treatment … there's no consequence for the United States. You pay
your money, you go home."

The Mexican consul general in Tucson said parents naturally want
to give their children every advantage and securing U.S.
citizenship is something a small percentage of Mexican families can
afford.

"This is not a new phenomena," said Juan Manuel Calderón Jaimes,
who says he's seen the practice for almost 30 years. "Many families
of means in Sonora send their wives here to give birth because they
have the resources to pay for the services."

Expectant mothers can either schedule a Caesarean section or
arrive a few weeks before their due dates to give birth at TMC. It
is one of 13 packages aimed at Mexican families, some of which
include a stay at a local resort and shopping excursion.

TMC's maternity package costs $2,300 for a vaginal birth with a
two-day stay and $4,600 for a Caesarean section and a four-day
stay, assuming no complications. That includes exams for the
newborn and a massage for the new mother. There is a $500 surcharge
per additional child.

"These are families with a lot of money, and some (women) arrive
on private jets and are picked up by an ambulance and brought
here," said Shawn Page, TMC's administrator of international
services and relations. "These are families with a lot of
clout."

U.S. citizenship for their children brings even more clout: the
opportunity — and right — to live, work and study in the United
States. Because their parents do not earn the same right, many
children of such arrangements grow up in Mexico and come here as
adults for school and work.

The United States recognizes the jus soli doctrine, which grants
citizenship to those born on U.S. soil. Like the U.S., Mexico
honors the jus sanguinis doctrine, which grants citizenship to a
child based on the citizenship of the parents regardless of where
the birth occurs. So a child of Mexican parents born at TMC would
have dual nationality.

Array of packages

Aside from the maternity package, TMC offers 12 packages for
international patients, including bone density tests, mammograms
and urology procedures.

Many pair pampering with medical care.

Earlier this month, TMC launched the Mujer Sana (Healthy Woman)
Health Tour Package, targeted to women 50 or older. It includes six
exams at the hospital and three days and two nights at a
Tucson-area resort and a shopping spree.

The hospital partnered with the Metropolitan Tucson Convention
& Visitors Bureau, and the program is marketed through the
visitors bureau in Hermosillo, Sonora.

He said the patients can bring their families and turn the trip
into a mini-vacation. The MTCVB has a contract with Super Shuttle
to provide transportation.

Rocío Pérez Medina, coordinator of "Vamos a Tucson" — the
campaign to promote Tucson in Sonora — said the new TMC package is
appealing.

Although a fixed price has not been set, the visitors bureau
estimates the cost will be between $500 and $600, which includes
the $150 exams at TMC.

Earlier this month, Pérez Medina reviewed the results of the
exams she took in order to sample the care patients would
receive.

"It is very good, very thorough," she said. The package can be
purchased by one person or for groups of up to 10.

Aside from treating international patients and the local
Spanish-speaking community, Page said, the goal of TMC's
international program is to reach out to U.S. citizens living in
Canada or Mexico to come to Tucson for medical treatment.

Health niches on both sides

South of the border, private hospitals are applying for
international certification and partnering with U.S. insurance
providers to cover medical costs.

Officials with the recently created Medical Tourism Cluster in
Sonora say the cross-border patient phenomena illustrates the
different niches.

"It's good that Mexican patients go to Arizona," said Héctor
Xavier Martínez, head of the Sonora Medical Tourism Cluster.
"Hopefully, we can create agreements between private hospitals on
both sides of the border."

Next month, hospital officials will visit Tucson to promote
Sonoran hospitals and the lower cost of medical procedures.

Among the hospitals that will participate are Hospital Cima
Hermosillo, Grupo Médico San José, Clínica del Noroeste and Grupo
Médico de Hermosillo.

Tourism representatives and bus and airline companies will also
participate in the Tucson visit.

The cluster is also promoting the idea of building small clinics
in tourist destinations such as Puerto Peñasco, also known as Rocky
Point.